Ask Merriweather
[http://askmerriweather.tumblr.com/ Ask Merriweather] is a Drawn Ask/Story blog following the life of a single mother and cafe owner in Ponyville. The blog is rated as Safe For Work and holds to the "Slice of Life" style of storytelling where the main focus is placed on simple daily events. The blog itself was inspired by a currently-running Play By Post RP community "Daily Life in Ponyville", where the cast originated from initially. As such, many characters from the RP game also appear as canon characters within the blog's story. Ask MerriAuthor is the Mod Blog for "Ask Merriweather". Setting The blog primarily takes place within The Summer Song Cafe, which serves as the home and place of business to the cast. This is located in Ponyville proper and, while several other tumblr Ponies have appeared as cameos in the cafe, it has not been established as existing in any other more prominent tumblr-verse. Merriweather and other characters speak to the audience directly under the pretense that they are being willfully interviewed during their daily lives as a way of advertising the cafe to gain more patronage. Using tumblr as a marketing device was the idea of Merriweather's more tech-savvy son, Meadow Lark, as she can barely figure out how to make her laptop function. She mistakenly refers to tumblr as "Tumbly-thing". Characters Merriweather Merriweather is a mint green Unicorn mare with a gray kite shield as a Cutie Mark. Her special talent is self-described as "Caring For Others", and she is extremely skilled with Force Field magic. She is the lead protagonist of the blog and its primary narrator. While calm and affable, Merriweather is also very stoic. She has been described as having a "rough and tumble charm" and carries herself with confidence. Despite her sometimes intimidating attitude she is actually very sentimental; she genuinely considers her employees as "family" and tends to show great empathy to strangers. Merriweather is a grown woman (essentially in her mid-30s by human standards), mother, and businesswoman. While fluent with magic, she is technologically impaired and relies on others for that sort of thing. According to others, it is rare that Merriweather ever loses her temper, though history has shown that some parts of her personal life are sore spots for her that raise her ire when discussed. Hailing from Canterlot, Merriweather was previously a soldier in the Equestrian Royal Army. She held the rank of Lieutenant in the Gallop Guard, a special forces division in the same vein as The Wonderbolts. As a result of her previous career, Merriweather sports a number of obvious scars all over her body due to injuries she received while on duty. The most prominent scars she has are a curved cut across her forehead, a long scar running from her snout along the left side of her face, and a large bite mark on her croup. Her left ear is deafened and crippled, bearing notable scarring and tattering. Merriweather retired from the military shortly after becoming pregnant and moved to Ponyville in order to offer her child a more stable life. Merriweather has a particular hatred of Changelings and is also extremely frightened of them due to the threat they represent to Equestria. Merriweather has family back in Canterlot: her father Fir Bolg, mother Red Tape, and elder sister Greenwood. Her parents are both Earth Ponies while she and her sister are Unicorns. Her father is Shirish Pony and her mother is native to Canterlot, making Merriweather and her sister each half-Shirish. It has been stated that Merriweather speaks with a slight accent. Meadow Lark Meadow Lark is an orange Pegasus colt. He has yet to gain his Cutie Mark or learn how to fly. He is a supporting character in the story and a secondary narrator whenever his mother isn't around for the camera. Meadow Lark is a ten-year old colt with a lot of energy and not a lot of capacity for sitting still. While too young to work as a full employee in the cafe, he helps out his mother wherever he can and is responsible for the existence of the in-universe tumblr blog. While good with computers and rather clever for his age, Meadow Lark's charisma is hindered by a lack of intelligence. While not dumb by any means, he's satisfied with mediocrity in his studies and likes to focus more on creative efforts instead. Many Ponies feel he behaves maturely for his age given how well-spoken and quick-witted he is, but he's still very much a child. Meadow Lark was born in Ponyville and attends school regularly. His favorite subject is History. He has been shown to have a love of music and sometimes composes his own scores, as well as sings. He has a crush on his teacher, Miss Cheerilee, and is friends with Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. It is not yet clear if Meadow Lark knows the identity of his father or the reasoning behind his absence, as he has expressed that Merriweather has not fully explained their familial situation to him. China Saucer China Saucer is a cream colored Unicorn mare with a cup and saucer for a Cutie Mark. Her special talent involves cooking. She is a supporting character in the story and so far only a narrator when the audience specifically asks for her input. China Saucer is a playful and flirtatious Pony (she would be in her early 20s by human standards), often making passes at customers much to Merriweather's disapproval. However, she is also a very dedicated worker and has dreams of opening her own restaurant in the future. She is close friends with her co-worker, Loose Leaf, and is by far the more responsible of the two. Loose Leaf Loose Leaf is a peach colored Pegasus mare with a slip of lined paper and a pencil for a Cutie Mark. Her special talent is art. She is a supporting character in the story and so far only a narrator when the audience specifically asks for her input. Loose Leaf is an extremely energetic and easily distracted Pony, often getting lost in her own thoughts. She is somewhat clumsy as a result and tends to break things around the cafe. While she does a good enough job around her workplace, Merriweather is well-aware that she is only there to make ends meet. Regardless, Loose Leaf is a very friendly and imaginative person who often throws herself headlong into whatever she's doing. She is good friends with her co-worker, China Saucer. Everyone affectionately calls her "LooLea" for short. Despite being a character for the story, Loose Leaf is actually an original character from the game PBPRP "Daily Life in Ponyville" and was not created by the author of the blog. She appears in the "Ask Merriweather" blog with permission of her creator, though Loose Leaf also has her own art blog: StupidSexyLooLea While Merriweather will sometimes appear in Loose Leaf's personal blog, the events of that blog do not necessarily reflect canon events in the Ask Merriweather continuity. Story The story thusfar follows the "Slice of Life" genre of simply observing the day-to-day lives of the characters. Within the context of the story, Merriweather has recently opened a tumblr blog as a means of advertising the cafe to increase sales. So far, the plan has worked swimmingly and the cafe has been flooded with guests from other tumblr blogs looking for something tasty to drink and eat. Another noteworthy part of the story is the world building aspect. The author of the blog has based the story and setting off the PBPRP "Daily Life in Ponyville" game, which has an extensive lore for the setting, races, and overall world. This lore was inspired by the My Little Pony universe and greatly expands upon the overall setting. As such, Merriweather often explains larger parts of the world to the audience when necessary, such as summarizing how the Equestrian Military operates. Her son, Meadow Lark, also helped to expand the setting by describing more mundane aspects of day-to-day life, Pony grammar, and a few concepts unique to Ponyville such as a civilian's POV to all the various disastrous events that have befeallen the town over the course of the cartoon. Art Style Despite being a young blog, "Ask Merriweather" has already undergone a significant shift in its art style within the first few posts of activity. The new art style is much closer to the show. The art is all created entirely within Photoshop using a mouse. Interblog Links and Guests The Summer Song Cafe and its hosts offer hospitality to any who come in for a drink. As such, many characters from other tumblr blogs make guest appearances as customers, though the generally do not have any impact on the overall story. Loose Leaf - http://stupidsexyloolea.tumblr.com/ Wordsmith - http://wordsmithreplies.tumblr.com/ Iron Will - http://ask-ironwill-now.tumblr.com/ Amelia Swan/Nova - http://askameliaswan.tumblr.com/ Pencil Scratch - http://ask-pencilscratch.tumblr.com/ Charlie Foxtrot - http://askcharliefoxtrot.tumblr.com/ Lolli Conjure - http://lolliconjure.tumblr.com/ Roasty Toast - http://askroastytoast.tumblr.com/ Silver - http://askiridescent-rain.tumblr.com/ Lady Sugar Hooves - http://ladysugarhooves.tumblr.com/ Lovestruck - http://ask-lovestruck.tumblr.com/ (NSFW) Dr. Super Monday - http://drsupermonday.tumblr.com/ Metal Nettle/Pumpkin Pie - http://askmetalnco.tumblr.com/ Skydrifter - http://askclockworkandskydrifter.tumblr.com/ Penwright - http://askpenwright.tumblr.com Gizmo Gearturner - http://askgizmo.tumblr.com/ Avalanche - http://ask-avalanche.tumblr.com/ Ocarina/Electra - http://ocarina-answers.tumblr.com/ Black Bard - http://askblackbard.tumblr.com/ Featherweight - http://askfeatherweightquestions.tumblr.com/ Aiyane - http://aiyaneshirogane.tumblr.com/ Patch - http://drawing-patch.tumblr.com/ Twinkie Pie - http://asktwinkie.tumblr.com Daisy Jane - http://askdaisyjane.tumblr.com/ Rainbow Dash (AU version) - http://dailylifeofrainbowdash.tumblr.com/ Scootaloo (AU version) - http://askdaily-life-of-scootaloo.tumblr.com/ Rusty Nail - http://askrustynail.tumblr.com/ (Semi NSFW) Joen - http://ask-joen-pony.tumblr.com/ Commander Foxtrot/Hallow Bones - http://askcommanderfoxtrot.tumblr.com/ Doppel - http://mylittlechangeling.tumblr.com/ Fluttershy (AU version) - http://askphilososhy.tumblr.com/ Tootie Frootie - http://ask-tootie-frootie.tumblr.com/ Sexually Confused Lyra - http://ask-sexuallyconfusedlyra.tumblr.com/ Assassin Derpy — http://assassinderpy.tumblr.com/ Princess Luna (AU version) - http://nightlifeluna.tumblr.com/ What's Her Face - http://ask-whatsherface.tumblr.com/ Professor Techno - http://asktechnowizard.tumblr.com/ Big Red Macintosh - http://askbigredmacintosh.tumblr.com/ Evil Genius Twilight - http://askevilgeniustwilight.tumblr.com/ Spud - http://ask-spud.tumblr.com/